Ubuntu Times

Political Instability, Intra-state Conflicts, And Threats To AfCFTA Agreement’s ‘Made In Africa’ Aspirations

Gibson Nyikadzino

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December 15, 2023

Political Instability, Intra-state Conflicts, And Threats To AfCFTA Agreement’s ‘Made In Africa’ Aspirations

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is arguably the African Union’s (AU) biggest project since the launch of the continent’s Agenda 2063 in January 2015. Launched in March 2018, the AfCFTA agreement connects 55 African economies and is the largest free trade area in the world in terms of country membership.

When the AfCFTA agreement was initially proposed at an AU summit in 2012, it had two goals: to build a Pan-African agenda in trade and cooperation, and secondly, to lift a large percentage of people out of poverty by instituting structural economic changes and cooperative legislation.

AfCFTA is understood to be a groundbreaking opportunity to both create an industrial revolution within and across Africa and opt out of the types of deals like the United State’s Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) that keep the continent at the bottom of global production, trade, and investments.

But little of this has yet been achieved. The rising number of conflicts, military coups, terrorism, ethnic violence, warlordism, and the presence of mercenaries on the continent is dimming the hopes of the trade renaissance expected to have “Made in Africa” goods dominate world markets.

Hindrances to these aspirations were manifest in 2022. Libya, South Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), northern Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Cameroon’s north-west and south-west regions were six African conflict hotbeds that year, against expectations that the continent would silence guns by 2020. In other circumstances, democratic backsliding continues, with insurgencies, insecurity, and weak governance leading to military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Niger, and Gabon, further restricting the prospects of sustainable trade practices and the successful implementation of the AfCFTA. Alongside dire humanitarian costs, the absence of peace in Africa is disrupting economic activities.

According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, in 2022, the number of Africans who were forcibly displaced by conflict stood at over 40 million people. An additional 3.2 million Africans have been displaced due to conflict over the past year. This is impacting Africa’s intra-trade potential.

Though it aims to provide broader and deeper economic integration across the continent as well as attract investment, boost trade, provide better jobs, reduce poverty, and increase shared prosperity, in 2022, intra-continental trade share in Africa stood at only 12 percent, compared to 47 percent in North America, 53 percent in Asia, and 69 percent in Europe. This makes Africa the only bloc with the least trade among its 55 members.

What others are doing

The EU is considered to be the most advanced model of regional economic integration. In facilitating smooth trade, the bloc identified three categories where barriers needed to be resolved: physical, technical, and fiscal.

In terms of physical barriers, the bloc acknowledges that border posts entail additional costs that pass on unnecessary delays. In the end, the countries streamlined their procedures to abolish border controls within the EU.

For other concerns about technical and fiscal barriers, what is certain for the EU bloc is that the headway made is far more comprehensive and satisfactory to member states. This explains why the EU is very actively pursuing its goal of gradual irreversible progress on a worldwide scale on how it engages other partners in trade initiatives like the EU, Chile, and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). This has helped the group adopt positions in favor of having binding multilateral rules in relation to the facilitation of trade.

Defining trade in African terms

Dr. Levious Chiukira, an expert on trade and lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, thinks Africans need to redefine what they term trade and highlight at what level and capacity trade should be considered as such by African businesses and entrepreneurs. He fears Africa might be defining trade on the basis of blue-chip companies that might benefit alone from the AfCFTA, as it appears to be a platform to anchor white monopoly capital while substituting home industries or backyard start-ups, which contribute more to Africa’s economy.

“We need a new discourse that redefines what we call African trade. We have allowed trade to be defined by some blue-chip companies. African trade has to be redefined because the bigger elements of our trade lie in what has been labelled informal trade, yet that is what constitutes small and medium enterprises (SMEs), cross-border trade, and backyard industries. We need to break the hegemonic definition of cross-border trade as if African trade is illegal. By calling our people informal traders, they are being illegalised and their trade is not being recognised,” said Dr. Chiukira.

Working on upgrading the border management systems — Zimbabwe’s revenue collection authority has invested in modern border equipment to plug loopholes necessitated by the evasion of formal tax collection systems in the movement of goods. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

The World Bank (WB) estimates that small businesses represent 90% of all businesses and that Sub-Saharan Africa alone has 44 million SMEs. While acknowledging their importance, the WB confirms that small businesses, especially those in Africa, are poorly understood due to a lack of or fragmentation of data.

Dr. Chiukira sees infant industries or SMEs promotion in the framework of AfCFTA as only developing not on the basis of free trade policy but of understanding the needs of what facilitates African trade.

“Sustainable African trade has to be done in the precept of understanding what facilitates trade. We have failed to address the needs of the African people, and we have failed to understand the challenges of trading within Africa. Conflicts are hampering trade. In the end, human capital will not be functional as conflicts might trigger movement of refugees,” added Dr. Chiukira.

Deepening regional integration and cooperation

Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are central to the AfCFTA agreement’s implementation. However, in every REC, there are one or two cases of internal or intra-state conflicts. In the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mozambique and the DR Congo are facing upheavals; in the East African Community (EAC), Kenya and Somalia are fighting Al-Shabaab terrorists; in the Economic Community of West African States and the Sahel, military coups, terrorism, and internal conflicts are key characteristics.

The AU and RECs have a common goal of achieving regional integration. However, little progress has been made, and one of the challenges and criticisms of the institutions’ efforts towards achieving the African integration agenda is poor coordination. Achievement or failure to achieve regional integration for the AfCFTA agenda is highly dependent on these supranational bodies.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's President — Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa (left) shares a moment with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa (right) after launching a joint Border Management Authority (BMA) at Beitbridge Border Post in October to prevent the illegal movement of goods, a key principle for AfCFTA. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

Mr. John Bosco Kalisa, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the East Africa Business Council in Tanzania, believes that promoting deeper integration through regional economic communities is a starting point to ensure the success of the AfCFTA.

The failure to silence guns is a concern.

“Every region is grappling with conflicts; these conflicts are hindering the ability of individuals and firms to produce goods and services that are required to stimulate economic growth and prosperity that are aspired to under the AfCFTA. Our leaders need to make concerted efforts to silence the guns, as espoused by the AU, the agenda of an Africa we want.

“Our African economies have been for so long depending on global supply chains, especially on essential food stuff such as rice, wheat, barley, fertilisers and others. The current Russia-Ukraine conflict which we are not party to creates negative spillover effects. This serves as a wake-up call for policymakers to design appropriate policies to build resilience within their systems and RECs,” argues Mr. Kalisa.

So near yet so far

Indications enunciated in the Agenda 2063 and AfCFTA policy documents make Africa appear as if it is progressing. To be so close and yet so far implies that in the AfCFTA agenda, policy documents, plans, and coordination may reflect as if the continent is nearing its goals, but realistically, Africa is far apart in attitudes, emotions, understanding, or meaning of the goals it wants.

“We talk of the AfCFTA, but countries that experience unconstitutional changes of government through coups or other means are automatically suspended from participating in the AU bodies, including the AfCFTA. For instance, the AU and ECOWAS closed their airspace and borders to Niger after the July military coup. Conflict resolution and prevention are essential for creating a conducive environment for trade integration and development in Africa.

“The effects of conflict can have lasting consequences on the skills, capabilities, and opportunities of the current and future generations of Africans,” says Mr. Tanatsiwa Dambuza, an intra-African trade knowledge management expert for Development Dispatch and co-founder of the Zimbabwe Institute of African Integration.

The AfCFTA project is showing signs of difficulties for the AU, and soon, without good political commitment by leaders, it will be realised soon that a miss is as good as a mile.

Operation Dudula

Vitalio Angula

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September 28, 2023

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There is no direct translation for the word Dudula in the English language, but the president of the organization that started off as a ‘clean-up campaign’ to directly confront the scourge of crime and drugs by ‘illegal immigrants’ in South Africa says it means ‘push-out’ or ‘more force’.

Zandile Dabula is the President of Dudula, a movement that came into the mainstream of South African politics for its unorthodox stance against ‘illegal immigrants’ in South Africa.

During the 2021 July uprisings, Dudula was led by Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini, a 37-year-old activist who has since distanced himself from the group.

Speaking to Ubuntu Times, President of Operation Dudula, Zandile Dabula, said the civic organization resolved at a consultative conference held on May 17, 2022, to transform itself into a political party and contest the country’s presidential and national assembly elections slated for next year.

She accuses the mainstream media of portraying the party in a negative light following a story by the BBC that has garnered thousands of views since it aired on September 19, 2023.

“We know mainstream media is biased; they do not cover everything we do. We placed South African citizens back into RDP houses; we have placed South Africans in jobs. We have our in-house media; we have people in Africa who want to have operation Dudula’s,” Dabula informed Ubuntu Times.

Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was a South African socio-economic framework implemented by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to deal with the country’s most pressing challenges just after the 1994 elections.

The program built houses for citizens (referred to as RDP houses) in the low-income strata; however, these citizens are said to have sold the houses to foreigners (at give-away prices), and Dudula is helping to get them back. However, the group is known more for its “anti-foreigners stance” and “vigilante” antics. Dabula says those who label the party as anti-foreigner vigilantes are not looking at the party’s activities in their entirety.

Zandile Dabula, President of Operation Dudula in South Africa. — Zandile Dabula is the President of Operation Dudula, which is a grassroots movement that morphed into a political party when it became prominent with its anti-immigration rhetoric and citizen arrests. Credit: Zandile Dabula

“South Africa is a welcoming country, but I need to have a passport or a visa to enter, and because our home affairs ministry officials are bribed at the borders, anybody can come in, and this has led to all sorts of crimes which we’re not used to seeing before,” she told Ubuntu Times.

“Nigerians specialize in drugs and body parts; Zimbabweans are robbers and steal jobs. They will kill you! Malawians, they are human traffickers, and they are also being trafficked, being used as slaves by the Pakistanis. They also kill; to be honest, we always see them coming without documents,” Dabula said.

Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Dlamini came to prominence in the international media landscape as a leader of Operation Dudula during a period of looting and violence that was sparked by the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma on a contempt of court conviction. These protests were similar in veracity and magnitude to the George Floyd protests in the United States of America a year earlier.

“When South Africa went through the July unrest, I was the leading commander that stopped the looting when the police failed. I was engaged to say, you must come, and we protected the malls,” Dlamini explained.

Unbeknownst to many, Dlamini has been the President of the Soweto Parliament for the past ten years and has dedicated his early adulthood to civic engagement in the township, which has an estimated population of 1.8 million inhabitants.

The Soweto Parliament is a community leadership structure that seeks to address issues affecting Soweto residents, such as unemployment, crime, and lack of access to basic services such as electricity.

Dlamini told Ubuntu Times that he has distanced himself from the activities of Operation Dudula due to ideological differences and the organization’s way of doing things. He said he has dissociated himself from Operation Dudula because the movement had deviated from its objective of addressing the issue of undocumented workers who were competing for economic spaces with South Africans in areas deemed not to be needing skills, such as the restaurant business.

“The law states that only foreigners with special skills should be absorbed in the economy where we need them, and the low-entry jobs on the lower part of the economy that do not require special skills should be reserved for the citizens that need jobs… We are talking about the country with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, and so we were addressing that, and I was happy to associate myself with that cause, but when it started to be out of control…, I had to leave,” Dlamini explained.

“When they (Dudula) publicly came out and said all foreigners, I said nonsense. I can never fight all foreigners; I am fighting the foreigners who are undermining the laws of the country. I had to leave them when they began fighting all foreigners,” Dlamini elaborated.

On the issue of the role South Africa can play on the continent to address the issues that push migrants from their home countries to South Africa Ndlamini said the problems of South Africa’s neighbors are the problems of South Africa and urged the South African government to play a greater role in addressing peace and security on the continent.

“The problem is that governments might be on a certain level of communication, but the average person in the country does not understand or comprehend that level of communication.” The former leader of Operation Dudula before it transformed into a political party noted to Ubuntu Times that governments should be able to communicate and work together with other countries to follow the laws of migration to South Africa.

Regarding the negative stereotypes Zandile Dabula, the President of Operation Dudula, attributed to nationals from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, Ndlamini said he does not agree with such stereotypes because crime cannot be generalized.

“Crime is crime; you must deal with crime. Once you start generalizing crime and making it a nationality, that means you do not understand policing and you do not understand crime because most Nigerians don’t sell drugs; you’ve got a minority of Nigerians that sell drugs,” Ndlamini warned.

“We fight when white people say black people are thieves. We want to fight! We want to fight, but when black people in South Africa say Africans are WHAT! WHAT! Then it’s not a problem. We can’t be two-faced; we must be fair all the time. We can’t say Nigerians sell drugs because not all Nigerians sell drugs. That is why I cannot agree with Zandi, Dudula, or anyone when they say that Mozambiquens do this and Zimbabweans do that. Criminal do 1, 2, 3, you can’t say entire nationals like that, you can’t,” Dlamini vehemently cautioned.

South Africa is Africa’s second-largest economy, with an estimated GDP of US$399 billion, based on a 2023 World Bank report.

According to the 2022 South Africa Department of Statistics census report, the country has an estimated population of 55.7 million people.

However, the country also has a significant number of illegal migrants, which then places the number of immigrants higher, and this is a concern for activists and politicians like Dabula and Dlamini.

Zandile Dabula, the President of Operation Dudula, with members of the police during one of their many operations in Johannesburg, South Africa. — Operation Dudula movement has registered as a political party and will be contesting the 2024 South African elections. Credit: Zandile Dabula

A South African journalist who chose to be anonymous informed Ubuntu Times that many people migrate to South Africa looking for the ‘dream’ but the reality is that resources are few and migrants are sometimes forced into a life of crime in order to be able to fend for themselves.

“Everybody is fighting for space, a slice of the pie. If the economy can grow and the pie can become larger, there will be more for everyone to share,” the journalist stated to Ubuntu Times.

The journalist further informed Ubuntu that some of the solutions to South Africa’s problem of illegal immigrants include tighter border control and South Africa playing a greater role on the continent in exercising its power to facilitate peace and security on the continent.

“South Africa’s policy is peace through negotiation, and like our President Cyril Ramaphosa said, the billions spent on wars can be used on development, but I also think South Africa has to focus more inwards when it comes to making lives better for South Africans,” the journalist emphasized.

Although they differ ideologically, Zandile Dabula and Nhlanla ‘Lux’ Dlamini seem to hold similar views on mainstream media, which they accuse of being biased and misrepresenting Operation Dudula in a negative light to fit the narrative they are trying to sell to their audiences.

“We know mainstream media is biased, and they do not cover everything we do,” Dabula lamented. Dlamini mentioned that the media does not uphold the ethics it should and has intentionally distorted his image in public by portraying him as a xenophobic vigilante when that is not who he is.

“I am well-traveled and have worked with Africans from all over the continent. I once asked a journalist what the word vigilante means, and they could not explain the meaning of the word, but that same time, the journalist was referring to me as a vigilante.

“Everything I did during my time with Operation Dudula has been within the confines of the law. The South African constitution allows citizens’ arrest, and that is what we were doing: arresting people for crimes and bringing them to the police so they can be dealt with. I am no longer with Operation Dudula, so I cannot speak on their behalf, but I do not agree with some of the things they are currently doing,” Nhlanla Dlamini concluded.

Oil Money Heralds Trouble For Uganda’s Indigenous Bagungu Tribe, Environment

Diana Taremwa Karakire

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August 28, 2022

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Oil Money Heralds Trouble For Uganda’s Indigenous Bagungu Tribe, Environment

BULIISA, Uganda — Baboons wander through shrub-lands that line the sides of newly built roads straddling Uganda’s wildlife reserves close to the shores of oil-rich Lake Albert. Across the border in Congo, magnificent lush green hilly countrysides stand out. If you’re lucky you can catch a glimpse of elephants too. Wildlife is abundant here, but such scenes might be no more in a few years, as oil companies embark on multi-billion projects to pump as much as 6 billion barrels of crude oil from Uganda’s biodiversity-rich Albertine Rift Graben.

Baboons crossing the newly built Hoima-Buliisa road in Buliisa District — Baboons crossing the newly built Hoima-Buliisa road that straddles Bugungu wildlife reserve close to the shores of oil-rich Lake Albert. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

This territory has also been occupied for generations by the indigenous Bagungu people, who tilled the land to cultivate millet and sorghum and gather medicinal herbs and fish on Lake Albert. The Bagungu have over the years used traditional techniques to conserve the lands. From restricting access to sacred areas to designating wildlife sanctuaries, owing in part to a traditional belief that nature and its resources are guarded by spirits.

But planned development of hundreds of oil wells that dot the shores of lake Albert poses new threats to the pristine environment and has come at the expense of indigenous people’s rights. The Bagungu have been uprooted from ancestral grounds and their once revered cultural sites destroyed—including shrines and grazing lands.

Alex Wakitinti a chief custodian removes his shoes at Wandeko sacred natural site in Kasenyi village Buliisa district — Alex Wakitinti the chief custodian removes his shoes at Wandeko sacred natural site in Kasenyi village Buliisa district. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

“We have lost our grazing lands. Our people wish oil had not been discovered in this area,” Alex Wakitinti the chief custodian of sacred sites of the Bagungu, says, pointing at a newly built highway. “We no longer have access to medicinal herbs and sacred trees where we worshiped.”

French oil giant TotalEnergies operates the Tilenga oil project in the remote districts of Buliisa, Hoima, Kikuube, and Nwoya near the ecologically fragile Murchison Falls National Park and the Nile Delta in western Uganda. The project consists of six oil fields and is expected to have 400 wells drilled in 31 locations. It will also house an industrial area, support camps, a central processing facility, and feeder pipelines. The project necessitates the acquisition of 2,901 acres of land across the districts, as well as additional land within the national park.

A map showing the TotalEnergies Tilenga project located near Lake Albert, Western Uganda. Credit: Petroleum Authority Uganda

According to Petroleum Authority Uganda, the process of acquiring land for the Tilenga project is still underway and has displaced 5,523 families. Residents and local officials, however, say that this process has been marred by inadequate and delayed compensation and resettlement.

Three years ago, TotalEnergies, approached Kaliisa Munange, a peasant farmer in kasenyi village, in Buliisa district, near the shores of lake Albert with a proposal. They would take over his 6-acre piece of land for project developments, in exchange for a bigger chunk of land, complete with a house, in a nearby village. With the promise of a better life, Mr. Munange consented to a relocation that he thought would be life-changing.

“When I arrived, I was so disappointed all the promises were empty, yet the company had already taken over my property,” he said, frowning his forehead with anger. “It was very far, there wasn’t a nearby school that my children would attend and the hospital is ten kilometers away. I decided to take them to court but up to now there is no decision.”

A notice board for Tilenga project-related information updates in Kasenyi Village, Buliisa district — A notice board for Tilenga project-related information updates in Kasenyi Village. Locals say these haven’t been effective due to the language barrier. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

Kaliisa’s is not the only case. His plight is shared by thousands of peasants in this lakeside village, which will soon house one of the largest oil processing facilities in Africa. Many have been waiting for compensation for several years since they were ordered not to plant any perennial crops and erect permanent structures on their land.

Fishing on Wanseko landing site on the shores of Lake Albert in Buliisa district — Fishermen at Wanseko landing site on the shores of Lake Albert in Buliisa district. Most fishing sites have been cordoned off due to oil developments. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

locals are nostalgic of the good old days when they had a source of livelihood tilling their land and fishing freely from L. Albert. When the land was communally used for grazing, worship, herbal medicines, and building materials.

“Community involvement and participation in the land acquisition process and environment impact assessment processes has been limited,” says Wakitinti “Our people were not involved in the identification of cultural sites and a number of medicinal herbs and trees were not assessed for compensation.”

Total executives deny the allegations insisting that the company is addressing the complaints of the affected people and has even been providing them with supplies, such as food.

A tamarind tree, one of the sacred trees central to Bagungu worship system, Kasenyi village,Buliisa district — The tamarind tree which is one of the sacred trees central to Bagungu worship system, Kasenyi Village, Buliisa district. Custodians say that a number of these trees were not assessed during the social and environmental impact assessments for Tilenga oil project. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

Pauline Macronald, head of the environment biodiversity at TotalEnergies Uganda says that the project is taking measures to ensure the socioeconomic stability of project-affected persons.

“TotalEnergies is committed to developing the Tilenga project while observing human rights standards and International Finance Corporation performance standards,” she said, adding that the company has been in close contact with project-affected people to minimize the projects’ impact on locals.

The constitution of Uganda safeguards property rights and land ownership. It affirms that everyone has a right to possess property and offers strict protection against unfair property deprivation. This states that everyone whose private property or land must be acquired for a public project should get prompt, fair, and reasonable compensation.

The International Finance Corporation Performance Standard 7 aims to guarantee that corporate operations minimize adverse effects and promote respect for indigenous peoples’ cultures, rights, and dignity. A fundamental criterion is the free, prior, and informed permission of indigenous peoples, as well as informed consultation and engagement with them throughout the project development process. The Bagungu, however, contend that these rights and standards have been violated by oil project developers.

“The land acquisition processes for oil projects have been shrouded in secrecy, no transparency. The processes have not been participatory and consultative in nature and any project resistance has resulted in costly formal court proceedings to the indigenes,” says Enoch Bigirwa, the former chairperson of the Bagungu Community Association.

The Bagungu Community Association BACA is a local group championing the rights of Bagungu amidst oil developments in their territory. It exists for the sociology-cultural and economic development of Bagungu. BACA is part of the environmental groups that filed a lawsuit against TotalEnergies in France over human rights violations and environmental harm in its Uganda oil project.

Who are the Bagungu

The Bagungu are an indigenous tribe native to Uganda and totaling around 83,986 according to the 2014 population census. They are mainly found in Buliisa, Hoima, and Masindi districts of western Uganda-Albertaine Graben. They belong to the historical Bunyoro Kingdom led by an Omukama, their King.

A map showing the location of the Bangungu people of Uganda. Credit: Bugungu Heritage and Information Centre

They are agricultural and fishing folk. Bagungu are the guardians and custodians of Lake Albert, a large freshwater lake that is the the source of Albert Nile, a branch of the River Nile that flows through Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, and DR Congo.

Oil Developments in Uganda

In 2006, oil and gas reserves were discovered in Uganda’s Albertine Graben.TotalEnergies and China’s CNOOC recently reached a final investment decision to inject $10 billion to kick start oil developments in partnership with the government of Uganda through Uganda National Oil Company which will subsequently lead to production in 2023. Output is expected to peak at 220,000 barrels a day of crude, Uganda consumes around 15,000 barrels a day of crude. Part of the crude oil will be refined to supply the local market while the remainder will be exported through a 1,443km buried East African Crude Oil Pipeline EACOP from Uganda to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga in Tanzania for export to the international market.

Uganda envisions the development of the oil and gas industry will accelerate economic growth, and job creation, improve the general prosperity of Ugandans and catapult the country into middle-income status. Petroleum Authority of Uganda estimates that about 200,000 people will be employed in the oil and gas sector.

However, climate campaigners have been opposing oil developments in the country citing environmental issues, climate change, and community rights violations. As a result, financiers of fossil fuel projects like banks, insurers, and other financial players have been urged to refrain from providing financial support for oil projects.

“Biodiversity is seriously threatened by Total’s oil operations. Government should encourage green economic investments in clean energy. These are inclusive and have the greatest multiplier effects on employment,” said Diana Nabiruma, the communications officer, at Africa Institute for Energy Governance.

This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network’s Indigenous Story Grants

Aquaponics Farming Helps Ugandan Women Regain Lost Livelihoods From The Pandemic

Diana Taremwa Karakire

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January 26, 2022

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Aquaponics Farming Helps Ugandan Women Regain Lost Livelihoods From The Pandemic

KAMPALA, Uganda — On a hill above Kampala’s city suburb of Ntinda, new farmer Peace Mukulungu looks over her aquaponics farming project she says is slowly allowing her to recover from pandemic-related disruption. It is a manifestation of how new charity-backed interventions are allowing COVID-19 victims to restore livelihoods.

“Who knew I would become a fish farmer after all these years as a secretary!” she exclaims with a wide grin on her face.

The Aquaponics farming project is an initiative of Water Governance Institute WGI a local non-government organization that is supported by funding from USAID. It was rolled out in Kampala in 2018. Working with Kampala City Council, WGI has been promoting Aquaponics farming as a recovery initiative targeting women in Kampala that lost their livelihoods as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. The intervention is aimed at promoting food security, improved livelihoods as well as boosting household incomes.

The 50-year-old Mukulungu is a single mother who over the years relied on her job in a secretarial bureau in the city to support her five children. When the pandemic hit and Uganda started to lock down to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus, the business closed. Within weeks, she was home and jobless.

Today Mukulungu is a beneficiary of the aquaponics farming project, from which she has been able to replace lost income from the secretarial bureau. Her system was stocked with 115 catfish fingerlings and vegetables including spinach and lettuce. These initial inputs were offered by WGI including fish feeds for 6 months.

Mukulungu earns Uganda shillings 350,000 (USD 100) per month from her fish farming, nearly double what she used to earn at the secretarial bureau.

“Who knew I could become a fish farmer without owning land and a pond,” she keeps wondering. “This is more convenient because I don’t even have to pay transport fare.”

Deborah Gita harvests Kale leaves from her Aquaponics system that consists of a fish tank and a grow bed. She is already reaping benefits from her system — Deborah Gita an aquaponics project beneficiary harvests Kale leaves from her aquaponics system that consists of a fish tank and a grow bed. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

Similar stories of lost livelihoods across Uganda are commonplace. From teachers to market workers many women who had over the years supported their families have been left struggling as Uganda implemented one of the strictest lockdowns to stem COVID-19.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 shock caused a sharp contraction of the economy to its slowest pace in three decades. Household incomes fell when firms closed and jobs were lost, particularly in the urban informal and formal sectors. Gross domestic product contracted by 1.1 percent in the year 2020.

The impacts have been worse especially for women working in both the formal and informal sectors. A recent report by Akina Mama wa Afrika – a local charity – indicates that the economic impact has resulted in reduced incomes and opportunities to earn a livelihood for over 70% of women employed in the informal sector which is less secure in terms of social protection. The report further states that in the absence of mitigation in the form of gender-informed strategies, women are likely to face heightened tensions, financial uncertainties, food insecurity, and vulnerability to poverty.

Aisha Nalwoga the fisheries officer at WGI describes Aquaponics as a smart agricultural innovation that combines both fish rearing and growing horticultural crops in a closed-loop water-recycling system. The system comprises a water tank in which fish is reared and grow-beds. The grow-beds contain a sand-gravel-aggregate layered medium where crops are grown. Water is introduced, manually or automatically into the fish tank from where it is drawn out as fish-waste-water and irrigated onto crops in grow-beds.

“The system has a capacity of 1200 catfish and 160 horticultural plants in the grow-beds. The horticultural crops may include tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, green pepper among others,” says Nalwoga. It allows for the year-round production of protein and vegetables. WGI working with Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute, Kabanyolo came up with this innovation.

The system is movable and can be set up anywhere requiring a small piece of land. It may be automated with water pumps using grid or solar energy, depending on farmers’ preferences, affordability, and access to the energy options.

Deborah Gita poses next to her aquaponics farming system where she just harvested kale and beans. Aquaponics farming project beneficiaries are already reaping from their systems — Deborah Gita poses next to her aquaponics farming system where she has just harvested kale and beans. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

As COVID-19 ravaged the informal sector, the clientele for the project grew from less than 50 people to over 100 across Kampala’s five divisions. The project has established 8 demonstration sites in Kampala city, plus Kamuli, Hoima, and Adjumani districts, supporting more than 400 beneficiaries across the country, a critical intervention as the country struggles to recover from the pandemic.

“People are embracing the innovation and adopting it especially because these systems take up less space and can be located anywhere in the backyards or rooftops and the fish is protected from vermin unlike in ponds,” says Nalwoga.

The rapid urbanization, limited space, and a growing population in Kampala make aquaponics farming a better alternative to fish farming in earthen ponds that require bigger land and space.

For women most of who culturally in Uganda don’t own land under customary law and tenure land ownership, and are dogged by insecure land rights, Aquaponics farming is a ray of hope.

Other beneficiaries are like 55-year-old Deborah Gita, who used to run a garment shop, dealing in used beddings in the sprawling downtown market of St. Balikudembe. When the pandemic hit, the market, one of the country’s most congested was among the first to be closed down. Out of the job, the single mother faced a daunting challenge to support her five children. She was approached by KCCA and the village councilor to become an aquaponics adoptee. After days of training, she was assisted to set up a system at her home.

“My system was stocked with 400 catfish fingerlings and vegetables including kale and beans,” says Gita. “I am now able to feed my family with a balanced diet and at the same time earn some money from the produce.”

Now earning some 1,500 shillings ($4) per kilogram of Kale vegetable, Gita, who once struggled to feed her children earns enough money to afford necessities including food, pay for electricity, and her water bills. She is looking forward to the harvest of fish.

From her garment stall, she used to earn a profit of around Uganda shillings 500,000. Since she started on aquaponics, she has managed to get at least 400,000 each month from the sale of vegetables alone. When her fish gets of age, she hopes to more than double this.

An automated Aquaponics farming system consisting of a fish tank and grow beds where vegetables are grown. — Peace Mukulungu’s automated Aquaponics farming system consisting of 114 catfish and grow beds with spinach vegetables. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire / Ubuntu Times

However, it has not been entirely smooth sailing for the project. Low skills to manage aquaponics systems, limited access to inputs such as water, fish feeds, and expensive electricity are some of the challenges before people like Gita. Securing a dependable and affordable source of good quality fish feeds and fish fingerlings on the Ugandan market has also not been easy for most beneficiaries. This has led to system management lapses leading to fish deaths and crop failure in some cases. Nonetheless, project officers have come up with training manuals as well as system management manuals translated into local languages.

Beneficiaries are also required to keep books on how they manage the systems in terms of how much water is used daily. Weekly calls are also made to beneficiaries to check on their progress. Through community awareness-raising meetings and radio talk shows, WGI has been promoting aquaponics farming among farmers, households, and youth in targeted districts. “We see aquaponics being an opportunity for employment for the many unemployed youths in the country,” says Nalwoga.

For its part, the government of Uganda has put in place measures to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on the masses. Experts say that the majority of these interventions target the formal sector and leave out the informal sector where many workers live hand to mouth, mostly women.

It has also been noted that these strategies and interventions are not alive to the gendered impacts of the pandemic and fail to fulfill aspirations of sustainable development goal 5 on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls yet this is crucial to accelerating recovery from the pandemic.

“Aquaponics is a viable and smart agricultural innovation however beneficiaries need to be thoroughly trained so that they understand how a system works, as the only way they will sustainably reap benefits from the systems,” says Victoria Tibenda Namulawa head of Aquaculture at Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organisation.

This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Gender Justice Reporting Initiative.

Market Reacted Positively As Zambia’s New President Took Oath

Gibson Nyikadzino

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August 30, 2021

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Market Reacted Positively As Zambia’s New President Took Oath

Zambia’s newly elected president Hakainde Hichilema assumed office last week Tuesday as the economy showed a positive reaction to his victory over outgoing president Edgar Lungu.

The 59-year-old was declared by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) winner of the August 12 presidential election with 2,810,757 of the votes while Lungu got 1,814,201.

Hichilema has prioritized resuscitating Zambia’s economy which struggled under the stewardship of his predecessor. Since Hichilema’s victory, the country’s currency, Kwacha, has firmed against the United States dollar.

Executive director of Panos Institute Southern Africa (PSAf) Vusumuzi Sifile told Ubuntu Times from Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, that there are high expectations among citizens following Hichilema’s victory.

“The inauguration is raising hopes among ordinary citizens because in his acceptance speech Hichilema said the right things and as he takes office, we now expect action. What is immediate for everyone is access to employment opportunities and decent livelihoods because the levels of inequality had become wider under Lungu and access to service was not balanced. We expect equality,” said Sifile.

The election had a high youth voter turnout and many unemployed youths cast their ballots wearing their university graduation gowns. Zambia also has many ethnic groups that Sifile said need a reasonable representation as the incoming president formulates his cabinet.

“One of the visible things during the election was the high turnout of youth voters who wore their graduation gowns. To the youth, Hichilema is quite interactive and uses Twitter to engage them. The youth gave him the name ‘Bally’ and we expect this online interaction to turn to offline engagement.

“Zambia has 72 ethnic groups and citizens expect a balanced representation when the president gets down to work,” he added.

A Lusaka resident who also spoke to Ubuntu Times, Joanne, said there is hope among Zambians.

“There is peace and excitement among many Zambians who are expecting a lot from the new government. The immediate expectation is the reduction in the cost of living which is currently beyond the means of many Zambians,” said Joanne.

Unemployment, corruption, and economic mismanagement were perceived as key features during Lungu’s presidency. Under his watch, Zambia became the first African country to default its loan repayment during the Coronavirus pandemic as it is currently writhing under a US$12 billion dollar external debt.

Karamoja Mining Rush Threatens Livelihoods of Indigenous People

Diana Taremwa Karakire

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August 23, 2021

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Karamoja Mining Rush Threatens Livelihoods of Indigenous People

Billions of investments into mining projects have breathed new life in Uganda’s once-neglected Karamoja region, creating thousands of jobs in mineral-rich heartlands near the Kenyan border but the investment rush has also brought new problems, fueling environmental degradation, rights violations, and land grabbing, threatening livelihoods of millions of indigenous Karamojong people.

Ugandan authorities are investigating the latest deadly clash in the impoverished gold mining sub-county of Rupa Moroto district which happened in late April, that left a 28-year old local defense personnel dead and forced several hundred locals to flee their homes after armed assailants staged a daytime raid and stole gold ores, worth millions of Ugandan shillings. Days earlier, dozens of policemen from Uganda’s mineral protection police who had been deployed to secure the lucrative gold mining village abandoned their positions, due to rising attacks, blamed on assailants, who usually cross from Kenya’s Turkana region.

In a region long inhabited traditionally by cattle-herders, the rush to get the region’s precious minerals gold, limestone, and marble, is uprooting people, damaging key water sources, and stirring social unrest. Locals talk of being displaced from their ancestral farmlands by land grabbers while others are now suffering from many diseases, including skin infections and diarrhea, blamed on consuming water from contaminated water bodies, as some miners use hazardous chemicals including mercury to extract gold.

Impact On The Environment

“We have been invaded by foreigners who don’t care about our livelihoods,” said Anne Napeyo, a 30-year old mother in Rupa. “Many of our people are getting wounds on their skin because the water here is contaminated”

Thousands in Karamoja have taken jobs in the mines while others have become “artisanal diggers” digging their own holes and tunnels, risking cave-ins and other dangers in pursuit of buried treasure, local leaders say. In addition to hazards such as contaminated water bodies, mining activities are leaving behind gaping pits, which now dot vast areas as artisan miners leave these behind in search of new grounds. Small children sometimes drown in these pits, while local farmers have lost livestock.

Sacred grounds known as ‘Akiriket’ are also being destroyed. According to the Karamoja traditional setting, every community is socially organized to have its own Akiriket from where the assemble for social events from initiations to naming happens. Community leaders say the minerals are turning into a curse.

“We want development but it can’t be at the expense of our peoples’ lives and livelihoods,” said Margerate Lomonyang coordinator of Karamoja Women Cultural Group and Karamoja representative on the multi-stakeholder group for the Extractives Industries Transparency initiative EITI. “Investors are taking advantage of desperate people who are trying to make a living in the mines”

Land Grabbing

A total of 17,083 square kilometers of land area in Karamoja is licensed for mineral exploration and extraction activities, according to official data. In 2018, Chinese mining company Sunbelt was given 3.3 square kilometers of land to set up a $13 million marble mining factory in Rupa sub-county. A year later, the company expanded its operations to cover additional 4.1 square kilometers, ostensibly after a deal with local leaders. Hundreds of families have since been pushed out of their ancestral homes, local officials say. Locals accuse Rupa Community development trust, a community trustee group created three years ago, of conniving with investors to steal their land.

“The community leaders came to us with compensation documents saying they were going to help us demand compensation when investors come,” one local known as Lokol, said “They tricked us to sign them without paying anything, now we have nowhere to go.”

While Sunbelt insists that company representatives went through the right channels to acquire the land, including signing a memorandum of understanding with the local leaders, authorities are investigating the transaction, according to the energy and minerals ministry.

“Sunbelt violated the community members’ rights to fair and adequate compensation in the land acquisition process. They didn’t involve the community members who are the real custodians of the land,” said Lomonyang.

Another company DAO Marble Africa Limited, which operates a mining license to mine marble has been accused by Human Rights Watch for rights violations, including allegations that the company connived and paid off a few local chiefs without compensating the local residents.

Land ownership in Karamoja is under customary tenure and communally owned and managed. This means that land is held in trust by one generation for another with the elders as ‘stewards’. This very unclear land ownership model makes fair compensation a difficult issue as few elders negotiate with the companies for the temporary acquisition of land.

Local Miners Association To The Rescue

Karamoja Miners Association unites miners in the region and was formed to sensitize local mining communities about their rights, help locals demand accountability from their leaders, and seek fair compensation from mining companies.

A Woman makes a submission during a meeting organized by Resource Rights Africa and karamoja Miners Association to educate miners about their labor rights — Women engage in mining activities in Karamoja. Poor working conditions and environmental degradation pose health risks for them. Credit: Resource Rights Africa

“We organize miners in groups so that they have a formidable voice and can negotiate for better wages and working conditions from mining companies,” says Simon Nagiro the chairperson of the association. “We have also embarked on interpreting into local languages miners’ rights as enshrined under the mining laws.”

Regions’ Mineral Potential

Karamoja is endowed with a vast array of metallic and industrial minerals that have the potential to be developed commercially. A 2011 survey found that the region contains over 50 minerals including gold, limestone, uranium, marble, graphite, gypsum, iron, wolfram, nickel, copper, cobalt, lithium, and tin. With 61% of Karamoja’s 1.2 million people living in poverty, the region’s mineral potential holds the promise of economic development.

Karamoja Mining At A Glance

A total of 17,083 square kilometers of land area in Karamoja is licensed for mineral exploration and extraction activities.
The region is endowed with over 50 different minerals, including marble, limestone, gold, silver, copper, and iron.
26 companies currently have exploratory or mining rights in the region.
The sector comprises both large-scale and artisanal and small-scale miners.

The Constitution of Uganda 1995, vests all mineral resources in the hands of government but article 244 provides that minerals shall be exploited taking into account the interests of landowners and local governments and further states that land will not be deprived of a person without prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation. Under articles 39 and 41, every Ugandan has a right to a clean and healthy environment and as such can bring an action for any pollution or improper disposal of wastes.

The Mining Act, 2003 is the principal law that governs mining in Uganda. Under Section 4 of the act, a person may acquire the right to search for and mine any mineral by acquiring a license issued by the commissioner. Section 15 provides for payment of compensation to owners of private land for damage done to the surface of the land or to any crops, trees, buildings, or for livestock injured or killed by the negligence of the holder of the license or an agent. Section 43 provides that a mining license shall not be granted unless the proposed mining program takes into proper account environmental impact assessment and safety factors.

Section 110 further makes it mandatory for every license holder to submit a costed environmental restoration plan which requires approval by the National Environment Management Authority. The Act however does not clearly address the regulation of mining activities by different government agencies and how they can follow up with the investors regarding royalties. This is worsened by the limited role local government plays in the regulation of mining activities due to resource constraints.

Rights Of Indigenous Groups In Uganda

According to Minority rights group international, Karamojong pastoralists, are some of the most marginalized minorities in Uganda, isolated economically and politically. Commonly stereotyped by their compatriots as violent and backward, other Ugandans refer to them as warriors. The African Commission’s International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs also recognizes the Karamojong people as indigenous minority groups in Uganda. However, Uganda does not officially recognize Indigenous minority groups. This lack of formal recognition by the state further disenfranchises Karamojong.

Uganda is a signatory to various international instruments that reiterate the rights of indigenous people. These include; the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People 2007, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. However, the country is still lagging behind in terms of protecting the rights of indigenous people.

An artisan gold miner mines for gold in Rupa sub-county — A Karamojong woman digs a hole as she mines for gold in Rupa-sub-county. Such holes dot the area and have become death traps for both children and livestock. Credit: Diana Taremwa Karakire

“We are empowering communities by educating them about their land and property rights so that they are able to hold mining companies accountable,” says Abaho Herbert a program officer at Resource Rights Africa a local charity organization operating in the region. “We also work with local leaders to put in place by-laws that enable fair wages for miners to avoid being exploited by the mining companies”

Since Belgium-based Africa gold refinery set up a $20 million gold plant in Uganda, the country has become a magnet for gold mining activities, notably in Karamoja. Gold exports fetch $1 billion every year and have overtaken coffee as Uganda’s leading export commodity.

For many local leaders, this rush is the reason for increased insecurity, displacement of locals, and inter-communal clashes. Gold miners are routinely attacked by assailants looking for the highly sought-after metal, bringing back memories of the insecurity that plagued the region at the height of cattle rustling in the 1990s and 2000s. Illegal miners continue to flock to the 7 districts of Karamoja, driving up displacements, clashes over land ownership and shared water bodies.

Food insecurity is also a challenge in the region and reliance on natural resources has rendered livelihoods sensitive to climate change, already a reality manifested inform of recurring droughts, flash floods, and prolonged dry spells.

In June 2021, Uganda’s cabinet approved a draft mining law (Mining and minerals Bill 2019) that imposes steep penalties for violations in the sector, including fines of 1 billion shillings ($278,164.12) and prison terms of up to seven years for those found guilty of environmental degradation, illegal mining among other violations.

The new law will replace the old mining legislation that has been in place since 2003, when the region hadn’t discovered vast minerals, according to Vicent Kedi the commissioner licensing at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

“The new law will solve issues of non-compliance by mining companies to social and environmental safeguards, ” he says. “We are working with local leaders in the region to continuously monitor mining company operations.

This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network’s Indigenous Story Grants

South Africa’s Violence Shows It Is Just Another African Country

Gibson Nyikadzino

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August 6, 2021

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South Africa’s Violence Shows It Is Just Another African Country

The South African government on July 14 confirmed it was deploying 25,000 troops in its two provinces, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, after police failed to quell violence and looting following the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma on July 7.

KwaZulu-Natal is Zuma’s province of origin, home of the Zulu people, South Africa’s largest ethnic group. Protests had erupted after the ex-leader handed himself over to police to serve a 15-month jail term for contempt of court.

Zuma, 79, defied a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.

When South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on July 11 on new COVID-19 regulations, he condemned the protests as “acts of violence based on ethnic mobilization.”

Zulu nation prime minister prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi slammed President Ramaphosa for his “defamatory remarks about Zulu people.”

“I don’t understand what is meant by ethnic mobilization. It’s not about Zulu people against other people, even in the case where they mobilized support for our former president Zuma. Mr. Ace Magashule is not a Zulu and the leaders of Mpumalanga who came here to support Zuma were not necessarily Zulu. This has nothing to do with Zulus, so I don’t know what is meant by ethnic mobilization in what is happening now,” Buthelezi said.

By July 12, South Africa’s currency (the rand) tumbled against major currencies as the riots sprung up, disrupting public transport services and forcing businesses to close. The currency dropped by as much as 2% against the United States dollar. More than 200 shopping malls had been looted by mid-Monday afternoon and the economy lost an estimated US$3.4 billion dollars, according to the Gauteng Premier. Over 150,000 jobs have been placed at risk by the protests.

On July 16 over 2,100 arrests had been made and the death toll stood at 337 with many people trampled to death during looting at stores, while the police and the military fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to try to halt the unrest.

Black Poverty Is Not An Accident

The protests in South Africa are most likely a result of the deep-seated grievances that have not been resolved since the end of apartheid in 1994 like poverty and inequality. While the incarceration of Jacob Zuma has been cited as the turning point to the protests, the lack of ownership of the means of production among blacks is also an attribute to the chaos.

At the time of the end of apartheid in 1994, more than 80% of the land was in the hands of the white minority. According to the Institute of Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, suggestions are that just under 60,000 white-owned farms accounted for about 70% of the total area of the country in the early 1990s. The country’s land reform program has been slow with some indications that less than 10 percent of the total land has been redistributed from white to black ownership since 1994.

When former president Zuma left office in 2018, unemployment was at 27 percent and he emphasized that his party’s incoming government embark on what he termed “radical economic transformation” to address the economic imbalances created during apartheid. Under President Ramaphosa, the overall unemployment rate has risen to 33 percent, with 46 percent of those unemployed being below the age of 35.

As a result, white people continue to be more skilled than their black counterparts and also they attain higher education levels. Therefore, they are likely to attain higher positions in the job market, and on average, earning higher wages. The crisis in South Africa can therefore be understood as the white population’s extensive control over the country’s economy.

South Africa-based political analyst Rutendo Matinyarare said the anger shown by the protestors is symptomatic of the failure of the political economy in addressing the needs of the black majority.

“The violence goes beyond the Jacob Zuma arrest. The Zuma case was just a spark for the anger of people that includes lack of transformation from apartheid, the maintenance of an apartheid economy that is exclusionary in that it excludes black people from participation. The fact that black people have been left in the very exact position they were during apartheid where they had no factors of production, no land to put their own houses, no land to produce food, and the only way they had to survive was to work for capital,” said Matinyarare.

On July 16 President Ramaphosa visited KwaZulu-Natal province where almost 155 people were killed during the protests and acknowledged that the violence was “planned”.

Matinyarare also indicated that South Africa’s three-year recession and the lockdown imposed accentuated the looting and at the moment is difficult to come up with the total cost of damage incurred during the chaos.

“It is difficult to come up with a total cost of the losses incurred but the cost of violence is that there are deaths that have been reported. It has cost the nations unity. There are now divisions along racial lines. This is now set to create a big rift between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ who are the whites and blacks, respectively. A few blacks have been co-opted into the system, but when you look at it their wealth is not a result of legacy but debt because black people never had the opportunity to create wealth. It is just a bandage being put on a rotten wound,” added Matinyarare.

The South African government needs to do more to address widening inequality, rampant unemployment and deliver on the promises of development for all and not just a few. It needs to prove its detractors wrong – that its pursuit of what it terms “radical economic transformation” fulfills the promise of addressing the country’s skewed economic ownership patterns.

Aid To Africa: A Deceptive Neo-Colonial Tool Enforcing Mental Slavery Without Restraint

Gibson Nyikadzino

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June 17, 2021

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Aid To Africa: A Deceptive Neo-Colonial Tool Enforcing Mental Slavery Without Restraint

“The root of the disease was political. The treatment could only be political. Of course, we encourage aid that aids us in doing away with aid. But in general, welfare and aid policies have only ended up disorganizing us, subjugating us and robbing us of a sense of responsibility for our own economic, political and cultural affairs. We chose to risk new paths to achieve greater well-being.” These were the remarkable words from Burkina Faso’s iconic leader Thomas Sankara.

The issue of aid in Africa, which Sankara was vehemently against, is topical and today used in determining how alliances are built and strengthened between the continent and its former colonizers. From the western world, Africa should get military, humanitarian, emergency and charitable aid to promote growth and security among other issues. In these times of the Coronavirus pandemic, giving alms to Africa has gone a gear up through a new phenomenon called “medical aid.” Global players have also joined the race to aid and rescue Africa. After the 2018 Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China pledged aid worth US$15 billion to Africa between 2019 and 2021.

Aid is a new form of colonialism. it is friendly but vicious. It is the new face the west and other global players are using to subjugate Africa because of its friendliness. Nearly four years after Ghana’s independence and realizing colonial defeat, then United States of America (USA) president John Fitzgerald Kennedy announced a new plan to address Africa’s ‘needs’.

“AID represents a very essential commitment. As important as any work that is being done by anyone for this country,” said President Kennedy in 1961 at the launch of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiative.

Emergency rescue — Food donations by non-governmental organizations create a dependency syndrome that will see citizens expecting more handouts even when they have the land to grow crops for self-sustenance. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

According to a 2019 report by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of wealthy donor nations, the value of international development aid in the world reached a new peak of US$152.8 billion, a slight increase over 2018. Africa has received more and this is not mere generosity.

Giving A Crumb After Taking A Loaf

The amount of aid which the west or east call important for African countries is not commensurate with what the global powers are exploiting and shipping out. Resource exploitation and plunder, slave labor and under-pricing of Africa’s resources have become key characteristics of what multi-national corporations are looting, and later return the crumbs in the form of aid.

Africa’s resources were plundered by the Europeans many years before they agreed to formally colonize Africa at the Berlin Conference in 1885. Slave trade stole the continent’s human resources. According to historians, over 12.5 million Africans were shipped out of the continent due to the slave trade. While it is a complex exercise to calculate the monetary value of what was stolen in Africa, but a decade before the American civil war, in New Orleans, a healthy African male slave was auctioned for $1,200. A girl aged nine or ten was auctioned for $1,400 considering her ability to bear more children for resale.

The value of the resources even after independence continues to bring slave wages in Africa. In Ethiopia, one of Africa’s biggest exporters of coffee, farmers are made to sell the coffee at US$4 per kilogram while large coffee companies sell the same at US$200 per kilogram on the international market. The same goes for cocoa in Ivory Coast. As a result, multi-national corporations continue making profits that run into millions while ‘independent’ Africa remains poor. Africa is strategic to global powers because of their reliance on its natural resources and economic opportunities.

The imposition of colonialism on Africa altered the course of the continent’s history. Its impact is felt entirely. The settler regimes had a poor and worse record for poverty reduction, considering the mineral resources of South Africa and then Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe).

With a continued pouring of aid in Africa in the name of “transforming lives” failing to meet the continent’s demands, economist and author of Dead Aid says the issue of aid in Africa is “one of the greatest myths of our time.”

“The state of postwar development policy in Africa today is one of the greatest myths of our time. That billions of dollars in aid sent from wealthy countries to developing African nations has helped to reduce poverty and increase growth is false. In fact, recipients of this aid are not better off as a result of it, but worse – much worse,” wrote Dambisa Moyo.

Road To Hell Paved With Good Intentions

Humanitarian or emergency aid through drugs and food, charitable aid through scholarships and non-governmental organization (NGO) work, and other interventions have not been sufficient to transform African societies. In the longer term, these are not going to help Africa develop. Public goods such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure are in many instances being financed in most instances through donor funds. What donors are providing are goods that African governments should provide their citizens.

In 2010, in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakariya, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said the role of aid is to support the socio-economic transformation of people and help people achieve things they want and ultimately wean off aid.

Europe's Top Diplomat — Ambassador Olkkonen says the wealth Zimbabwe has is enough to transform the country’s socio-economic condition and in the long term wean it off dependence on aid. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

European Union (EU) head of delegation to Zimbabwe Ambassador Timo Olkkonen acknowledges that Zimbabwe has wealth of resources and that in “the longer term we should move away from dependence on aid.” “Zimbabwe is a wealthy country in terms of natural resources and touristic and agricultural potential. In the longer term, we should move away from dependence on aid. Concurrently with providing development cooperation we are building our trade relations with Zimbabwe based on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) we have. We are in the midst of negotiating an expansion of that agreement to cover other areas than trade in goods,” Ambassador Olkkonen says.

According to a 2019 CSO Sustainability Index for Sub-Saharan Africa prepared by USAID, the US government pledged to give NGO’s financial aid to “empower and transform livelihoods of citizens in all sectors.” Despite reports of mismanagement of donor finances, Ambassador Olkkonnen said his bloc has mechanisms in place “to avoid any un-procedurally benefitting from our funding” adding that “the thousands of beneficiaries of EU support all over Zimbabwe will disagree” that EU aid is “just plain wasteful”.

Decolonize The Mind And Return To Freedom

Africa’s modern leaders have abandoned the self-sustenance philosophies of leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, and Thomas Sankara. Zimbabwe’s media scholar and academic Dr. Lyton Ncube said aid will never develop the continent, but will only avail short-term benefits.

“That issue is a complex one and we need to understand the political economy of aid from the Washington Consensus and taking it from either the eastern or western blocs. When we look at the role of aid in transforming lives of Africans, perhaps the benefit is short-term sustainability and not for the long term. The main problem is those who fund have their own interests, goals, and ambitions. I would refer you to some of the revolutionaries when you look at the philosophies of Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba, and Kwame Nkrumah they managed to embark on what I would call the return to freedom,” said Dr. Ncube.

According to Dr. Ncube, the issue of aid resembles the problem of coloniality in Africa and urged governments to take the lead from Zimbabwe when it embarked on the land redistribution exercise in 2000 that benefitted over 300,000 households. Before 2000, only 4,500 former white commercial Zimbabwean farmers owned an estimated seventy percent of the country’s prime land.

Dr. Ncube adds: “To have long-term development we need to own the means of production and be masters of our destiny by value-adding our products. Zimbabwe’s land reform program is a starting point to self-sufficiency. Are you telling me those donors have no people who need help from their countries? Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o says the problem that we suffer from is the problem of the mind. We need to cleanse our minds from the colonial system.”

An ‘Illegal’ Economy Fortified With Blessings Of Ruling Elite

Gibson Nyikadzino

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May 12, 2021

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An ‘Illegal’ Economy Fortified With Blessings Of Ruling Elite

On April 18, Zimbabwe celebrated its 41^st independence anniversary from British colonial rule amid a presidential promise that the country’s mining sector will contribute US$12 billion dollars in revenue by 2023.

The country’s over sixty mineral resources ranging from diamonds, platinum and gold remain under-explored. According to the country’s minister of Mines and Mining Development Mr. Winston Chitando, “Zimbabwe does not know the estimated value of its mineral wealth.”

Despite the huge wealth in mineral deposits, the lives of many Zimbabweans have not improved. In his independence speech, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa reiterated his government’s plan to have the mining sector contribute hugely to the economy and improve the lives of citizens. By 2030, Zimbabwe seeks to achieve an upper-middle-income economic status.

“The mining industry is projected to rebound by eleven percent this year. Guided by the strategy to achieve a US$12 billion industry by 2023, programs that include increased exploration, expansion of existing mining projects, resuscitation of closed mines, opening of new mines, mineral beneficiation and value addition are being prioritized,” said President Mnangagwa in his independence speech.

Zimbabwe's leader since November 2017 — Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa addresses the nation in his Independence Day speech revealing that the country’s mining sector will be a US$12 billion dollar industry by 2023 despite Zimbabwe losing over one billion dollars through gold smuggling and illegal trade of the mineral. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

Zimbabwe’s goldfields and other mineral fields are today a contested terrain where even the elite and state institutions including the country’s Defence Forces are scrambling for a slice of the cake. In 2008, Mr. Farai Maguwu, the director of Center for Natural Resource Governance was arrested for bringing to attention the abuses committed by Zimbabwe’s security forces in the Marange diamond fields.

The gold sector has not been spared. According to a 2020 report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) gold buyers linked to President Mnangagwa buy the precious mineral on a premium, deterring the gold panners from selling the gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners, the sole authorized gold buyer.

Resources Plunder By An Intemperate, Predatory Elite

After his dismissal then as Vice President in November 2017, Mnangagwa was accused of amassing wealth by grabbing mines belonging to small-scale miners. “Mnangagwa also grabbed many mines which belong to small-scale miners. He was abusing his authority as the Vice President to grab whatever he wants. We say Mnangagwa must be arrested because he is corrupt, he must face the music,” said then party official Mr. Dickson Mafios at a rally.

In 2018 former Higher Education Minister in Zimbabwe Prof. Jonathan Moyo also revealed that President Mnangagwa’s activities and those of his close circle are despicable that even the United Nations (UN) had to publish a report about their activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) second civil war.

“The person who led the plunder of resources in the DRC leading to the United Nations (UN) investigating and coming with a report that is still there is Emmerson Mnangagwa along with the military cabal of General Chiwenga and SB Moyo. The person who brought the Chinese to plunder Chiadzwa Diamond Fields up to a point to which we had at the very least from 2007 to 2014 some US$12 to US$15 billion in diamond revenue that remain unaccounted for that went into the pockets of individuals is Mnangagwa,” Prof. Moyo said.

The report titled Plundering of DR Congo Natural Resources: Final Report of the Panel of Experts (S/2002/1146) was published in October 2002.

Chief beneficiary — President Mnangagwa’s name has been implicated in a scandal of six kilograms of gold that were recovered by the police destined for Dubai, allegedly involving his wife Auxillia, son Collins and close relative Ms. Henrietta Rushwaya. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

Today President Mnangagwa and his family’s name continue to ring in illegal gold deals. Illegal gold mining or artisanal small-scale mining in Zimbabwe has been a launchpad for many illicit financial flows and gold smuggling out of the country. Home Affairs minister Mr. Kazembe Kazembe in February this year admitted that smuggling and illegal gold deals are costing the country between US$1.2 billion to US$1.5 billion dollars annually.

In October last year, Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Ms. Henrietta Rushwaya, a “close Mnangagwa relative” implicated Mnangagwa’s wife Auxillia and their son Collins after she was arrested at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport attempting to smuggle six kilograms of gold worth over US$360,000 to Dubai.

The First Lady distanced herself from Ms. Rushwaya’s arrest. “I have no dealings nor involvement with Ms. Rushwaya of any illegal kind,” she said. The gold sector in Zimbabwe has become a vital cog in foreign currency earning with many entrants using President Mnangagwa’s name to make inroads.

A US$12 Billion Election Campaign Promise For 2023?

Mr. Maguwu doubts the sincerity of the Mnangagwa administration in reaching the US$12 billion mining sector contribution to the economy by 2023. He further notes “Zimbabwe has far surpassed that mark.” Late Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe in 2015 claimed the country had not received much from its diamond industry and lost about US$15 billion in the sector.

“We have not received much from the diamond industry at all. Not much by the way of earnings. I don’t think we have exceeded US$2 billion or so and yet we think that well over US$15 billion dollars have been earned in that area,” President Mugabe claimed then.

Zimbabwe is scheduled for general elections in 2023 and according to Mr. Maguwu, the government initiative in the mining sector is a campaign tool similar to the 2013 elections.

In 2010, Zimbabwe had an Employee and Community Share Ownership Scheme (ECSOS) in which foreign-owned companies were expected to cede some of their investments towards employee and community empowerment. After the 2013 elections, the scheme has been dumped.

“To me, it sounds like a political statement targeting the 2023 election, similar to the 2010 community share ownership scheme that was going to empower communities, and it led to the 2013 elections. After that election the whole thing died a natural death, now they are talking about a US$12 billion dollar economy by 2023, which is another election year. There is no feasibility study as to what is wrong with our mining sector. You cannot fix what you do not know. So there is no research carried out to say what is wrong and how do we correct it.”

“This government is silent on mining corruption. They are not talking about it and that is where the money is. It is not about making big statements and making promises to the nation,” Mr. Maguwu said.

Meeting target — Mines Minister Mr. Chitando dismissed critics for insinuating the US$12 billion dollar mining industry sector target by 2023 is a political campaign strategy. In his admission, he said Zimbabwe does not know the cumulative value of its mineral wealth. Credit: Gibson Nyikadzino / Ubuntu Times

Minister Chitando dismissed Mr. Maguwu’s assertion. He says the expected US$12 billion dollar contribution by the mining sector will be revenue streamed into the national fiscas.

“The US$12 billion dollars is the revenue that will be coming to the fiscas from the mining sector. There are projects happening now in the platinum sector, we have three new projects taking place. We have expansion projects taking place and all projects are taking place in reality. The fact that we took a five-year window is because that is the target we are working on,” explained Minister Chitando.

Uphold Rule Of Law To Plug Leakages, Illegality

Mr. Wellington Takavarasha, the chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), an organization owned by President Mnangagwa’s close relative Ms. Rushwaya, highlighted that artisanal small-scale miners contribution to the US$12 billion contribution is dwindling as some miners are being arrested.

Between 2017 and 2020, artisanal small-scale miners contributed a total of sixty tonnes of gold to the sanctioned government buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners. Because of arrests of the artisanal small-scale miners, gold output has declined from 60 percent to 47 percent. In 2019, small-scale miners contributed 17 tonnes as opposed to 9.8 tonnes in 2020.

“This year’s first quarter, our output has declined but we have the potential to contribute to the US$12 billion target. Our strategies include having our ventures formalized, mechanized, and have government resuscitate the mining industry loan fund,” said Mr. Takavarasha.

ZMF estimates that a tonne of gold is traded illicitly outside the formal market, which is fuelled by more than 1.3 million unregistered artisanal small-scale miners against its membership of 40,000.

Zimbabwe’s Gold Trade Act prohibits people without licenses to trade in the precious material. “Illegal mining is a livelihood activity that needs to be formalized. As it is, government is not benefiting but the middlemen and police are benefiting,” added Mr. Takavarasha.

Illegal gold dealings and smuggling is no new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. Successive ministers have raised the issue but their principals have turned a blind eye to their calls. Economist Mr. Nyasha Muchichwa says for government to stop the leakages, it needs to “uphold the rule of law and offer a competitive price to stop arbitrage.”

Government sanctioned buyer Fidelity Printers and Refiners is currently buying gold at US$45 per gram while on the illegal market it is US$54 per gram.

“The fact that we can quantify the money we are losing means we know that it is happening and when it has happened. The law should take its course and to those caught on the wrong side to be used as an example on what not to do.”

“When paying for those mining or selling gold, let us pay competitive rates so there is no arbitrage. As long as we have different prices this is when you find people making other means to get more money from the mineral they are holding. We need to address the price, laws that govern the selling, and the issue of our porous borders,” said Mr. Muchichwa.

China’s Appetite For Furniture Depletes Africa’s Rosewood Trees

Kizito Makoye

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April 22, 2021

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China’s Appetite For Furniture Depletes Africa’s Rosewood Trees

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — China’s insatiable appetite for rosewood tree species is still driving illegal deforestation in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa, killing forests and sowing civil strife, Ubuntu Times can establish.

A surge in illegal logging is devastating native forests across the east African country, despite efforts by local authorities to prevent the forest losses.

Hundreds of tonnes of endangered Rosewood trees are being cut and smuggled out of Africa each month by timber dealers to feed a lucrative Chinese construction and furniture market, local forest groups said.

Armed Loggers

Armed loggers, usually invade forests at night, targeting, indigenous trees notably rosewood, which is on the verge of extinction due to rising demand, and ferry them in wooden dhows in the Indian Ocean across Mafia island ready to be exported.

Rosewood known locally as Mpodo is a target for a bustling illegal logging trade in east and western Africa due to a lucrative market in China and elsewhere in Asia.

With China’s local rosewood rapidly waning, illegal loggers and traders have increasingly looked towards forests in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa to feed the $15 billion rosewood furniture market.

Charles Meshack, Executive Director of Forests Conservation Group—a national NGO dedicated to conserving the country’s high biodiversity forests said China’s rising demand for wood is endangering these forests and strain the lives of local Tanzanian communities dependent on the wood for a livelihood.

“We are quite certain illegal harvesting of rare forest species including rosewood persists, and urge the government to take stern measures to stop this trend,” said Meshack.

Lack Of Enforcement Fuels Illegal Harvesting

Although the east African country has an export ban on certain tree species including rosewood in place observers said lax enforcement has allowed illegal harvesting and export to continue unabated.

Across Africa, transnational syndicates are flouting local bans to exploit the remaining valuable rosewood.

Rosewood forests deliver critical climate and livelihood benefits to communities across Africa, reduce water stress, and support sensitive ecosystems.

Local analysts say the ongoing trade in those wood species greatly undermines the communities’ ability to adapt to climate change let alone fuelling local conflicts.

Tanzania has 33 million hectares of forests and woodland, but the country has been losing more than 400,000 hectares of forests a year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

The east African country’s dense forests found primarily in the southern part of the country are increasingly threatened by logging, agriculture and fire.

Livelihoods At Risk

Although many people in southern Tanzania rely on rosewood as a source of fuel and medicine, corruption and poor governance of forestry resources are allowing loggers to flout the export bans.

“We don’t seem to have adequate regulatory framework in place to deter criminals who are endangering rare forest species,” said Juma Mlingi, a local farmer in Rufiji valley adding that China’s appetite for rosewood is not only bad but also severely impacting the lives and livelihoods of his communities.

Dos Santos Silayo, Chief Executive Officer Tanzania Forests Services Agency (TFS) said the government is determined to deter illegal logging of rosewood and already remedial measures have been taken to conserve and manage forests sustainably.

Classic Furniture

First crafted in China as far back as 1,000 BC, rosewood furniture, or hongmu as it’s popularly known, has been fashioned into imperial-era styled furniture pieces.

As one of the world’s largest consumers of rosewood, the rising demand for wood in China is having a serious impact for endangered forests.

According to a 2018 report published by Forest Trends—a Washington-based non-profit organization with a mission to conserve forests and other ecosystems, rosewood imports into China increased substantially in the past two decades and were worth approximately $2.6 billion between 2013 and 2014.

Rosewood has rapidly become a hot cake in China, where the dark red and oily-textured species, used primarily for making classical Chinese Furniture and décor, attracts new wealth.

According to the report, the surging demand for rosewood has driven massive amounts of illegal deforestation, contributing to smuggling, fraud, corruption and ethnic strife in most African countries.

In 2016, nations meeting at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP) of CITIES, significantly expanded protections for rosewood species and hundreds of other tree species targeted by illegal loggers and traders.

Trade in valuable hardwood species, including rosewood—largely to satisfy demand for classical-style furniture in China—poses an increasing threat to tropical forests.

“Rosewood logging is illegal in Tanzania, but the situation on the ground is proving otherwise since dishonest traders still go after those endangered species,” said Mlingi.

From 2010 to 2014, China’s rosewood imports from Africa jumped 700 percent, and in the first half of 2016 alone, nearly US$216 million worth of West African rosewood was imported into China.

US Military Presence In Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Making SADC Volatile

Gibson Nyikadzino

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April 14, 2021

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US Military Presence In Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Making SADC Volatile

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) might have been defeated, but its ideas and followers did not disappear. It has since reappeared in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado Province, transformed as the Islamic State’s Central African Province (ISCAP). In August last year, the group attacked and ran over Mocimboa da Praia, a port town lying on the Indian Ocean coast, declaring it its capital and raising the ISCAP profile to the world.

The situation at present is threatening a major military and humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which has so far internally displaced at least 700,000 people. By June, the number is projected to be around one million.

Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s assistant commission for operations recently said: “If one looks at the speed at which we are seeing the number of internally displaced persons rise, we know that the window of opportunity that we have is closing.”

Fleeing conflict — People fleeing the violence in several districts in Cabo Delgado are seen here homeless as they arrive in Pemba, the provincial capital. Credit: IOM / Matteo Theubet

The roots of the insurgency in Mozambique on October 5, 2017 can be traced to Kenya’s city of Mombasa and spreading along the coast in Tanzania to Mozambique. Where a combination of resources and conflict pan, the United States has presented itself as a counterterrorism partner. Over 2,000 US forces are active in over 40 counter-terrorism training missions in Africa.

Mozambique, a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), on March 15 confirmed the presence of US Commandos in the country for the next two months. A statement by the US embassy in Mozambique revealed that the arrangement is a government to government arrangement in which “US Special Forces will train Mozambican marines for two months to support Mozambique’s efforts to prevent the spread of terrorism and violent extremism.”

This marks the entry of the US-Africa Command in a region that has enjoyed relative peace. On the other hand, Mozambique’s former colonizer, Portugal, confirmed it will send “a staff of approximately 60 instructors to Mozambique to train marines and commandos.”

Is Mozambique Choosing A Wrong Ally?

The SADC bloc has a counter-terrorism strategy that underscores the desire to mete out terrorism and violent extremism under the collective belief that “a threat to one country threatens the peace and stability” of other countries.

University of Zimbabwe (UZ) lecturer in the Department of Politics and Administrative Studies Dr. Lawrence Mhandara says the decision by the Mozambican government to invite US forces “indicate a vote of no confidence” on the regional bloc.

“The lack of action on the Mozambique issue by SADC demonstrates a lack of collective capacity in the region. Though SADC has a counter-terrorism strategy, it lacks dynamism in dealing with collective security threats. For instance, Angola and Zimbabwe lack counter-terrorism capabilities,” notes Dr. Mhandara.

The SADC protocol to assistance from other nations is based on the “invitation by the country that needs help” so that other countries intervene. In the case of Mozambique, the country only sent an invite in August last year after it had approached individual countries, which did not yield results. The choice of the US by the Mozambican government, according to Dr. Mhandara, “could be based on the USA’s combat experience” on several conflicts fighting terrorism.

US forces have notably been to Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and now in Syria in the name of “fighting” terrorism.

“The obvious implication of this action by the government of Mozambique is that it envinces a vote of no confidence in the collective will and capability in SADC. There could be some incentives for the USA in this arrangement, but it is damaging to SADC,” added Dr. Mhandara.

Resource Protection At The Heart Of Foreign Intervention

The involvement of the US in Mozambique is part and parcel of the political-economy of war. It cannot be refuted that there are incentives for the US in this conflict. In Afghanistan and Iraq, American companies have benefitted from defense contracts through conflicts.

There are double standards coming through over the past ten years, oil companies have discovered the largest gas reserves that push several multi-billion dollar projects that have the potential to turn Mozambique into the next energy giant. As of 2019, statistics indicate Mozambique holds 100 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves, and ranked 14th in the world. In 2011, economic projections from the World Bank pointed that in the next ten years, the biggest investments were going to Cabo Delgado.

In the Cabo Delgado region, Montepuez ruby mine is said to account for 80 percent of global gas output. Besides Montepuez, a myriad of private gas companies have also emerged and protecting their interests by hiring private security companies to protect their interests. When ISCAP ran over Mocimboa da Praia last year, the Mozambican government and French oil company Total announced a strengthened agreement to protect gas installations including the Rovuma LNG gas project led by Italy’s Eni and the USA’s ExxonMobil.

The US and Portuguese troops coming to Mozambique are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) keen to “stop terrorism and extremism.” Simultaneously, they are protecting the economic interests of French’s Total, Italy’s Eni, and USA’s ExxonMobil, exploring gas in Mozambique. France and Italy are also NATO members.

“After this conflict, aims could be economic for the US government and after the mission, certain benefits will accrue to the USA,” further notes Dr. Mhandara.

Mozambique’s President Fillipe Nyusi has also been accused by his critics of pushing the neo-liberal agenda that prioritizes business over ideological principles as enunciated in the SADC framework to solving conflict, ending poverty and ensuring economic development. According to the World Bank, half of rural people in Mozambique live below the poverty line, a figure barely reduced since 2003.

ISCAP Using Religion To Tap Into An Illegal, Neglected Economy

Cabo Delgado has corridors that can improve trade between Tanzania and Mozambique, and the province is said to have an illegal economy used for heroin smuggling from Asia worth an estimated US$100 million which ISCAP is tapping into.

Makeshift shelter — Hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced by the ongoing conflict in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado Province. The UNHCR expects the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to be around one million in June. Credit: UNHCR / Martim Gray Pereira

The conflict in Cabo Delgado also has a religious twist. The region is one of the country’s poorest and mostly resident to Muslims. It has the lowest literacy rate, too. The Muslims in Cabo Delgado have over the years felt neglected as the natural gas in their province has not generated any benefits in their communities. ISCAP is using this to promote its anti-State agenda.

US Unwanted Yet Welcome In SADC Region

SADC Executive Secretary Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax is of the view that the region is “collectively committed” to supporting its member States, including Mozambique, in dealing with matters of insecurity that threaten the stability of the region at large. She confirmed the region has a robust policy, institutional and implementation framework to deal with issue of insecurity, including violent extremism and terrorism in Mozambique, without explaining why Mozambique invited the USA and by-passing SADC.

“Terrorism is a global challenge, as such, solutions to the insurgency require collaborative efforts among member states, regional communities and international partners. SADC has taken a multi-sectoral approach in ensuring that such challenges are addressed comprehensively and sustainably at national and regional levels. This is done through a number of policies, strategies and programs,” she said.

SADC committed — SADC Executive Secretary Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax says the region is committed to supporting Mozambique in fighting insurgents and all efforts being undertaken collectively are done considering regional and bilateral cooperations with Mozambique. Credit: The Herald / Zimbabwe

There are some issues the SADC region is not addressing, the spill-over of the conflict to Mozambique’s neighbouring countries. Because of the spatial proximity, conflict and threats of terrorism are likely to be huge in Malawi and Tanzania as neighboring countries.

SADC has long and winding borders that are not policed and monitored, hence for a long time have been porous and conducive to move contraband. The threat of refugees moving from Cabo Delgado into Tanzania and Malawi is great and this can be an opportunity by the ISCAP to export the terror operatives in other countries embedded as refugees.

Regarding possible outcomes to the conflict, Dr. Mhandara argues there is a possible spill-over of the conflict that is set to welcome US military presence in SADC.

“Because of the conflict going on in Cabo Delgado, the immediate issue is that the military presence of the USA will be immediately welcome though unwanted. The USA will then influence and capture the region through counter-terrorism and counter-insurgence experience and in the long term there will be presence of the USA in the region,” added Dr. Mhandara.

According to SADC, there is provision of a Standby Force for the Mozambique conflict if member states pledge support. This has however not happened except for the “collective solidarity” rhetoric by the regional leaders. The response by the region remains a feeble and futile adventure that should be quickly addressed to ensure regional stability.

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